Oct 9 - 14Posts Are Due By Midnight On Saturday Oct. 14th

This article is a direct extension of what we learned in class this week. Glycolysis is important for humans, because it is the first step in cellular respiration, which gives us the energy to carry out bodily functions. But according to this article, glycolysis may change as we get older, especially in the brain. This could help us understand how neurological illnesses occur. The article theorizes that there may be a link between lower metabolism within the brain and neurological illnesses such as Alzheimers. This opens the possibility of finding better treatments in the future.

This video looks at the steps of glycolysis in a 3D coloured model, this helps to visualize what it would be like in the human body. It allows for differentiation of the steps and looking at each step more in depth. It also provides extra information like the names of the enzymes and which reactions are irreversible.

The food that is taken in by humans has energ¥ and is eventually transfered into ATP energy. ATP provides the energy for the cells to work, and they help maintain the everyday functions that the human body needs to complete. In the human body cellular respiration is always taking place because it is always helping the body transfer the enrgy into a different form so it can be stored and used later on. Glucose is the most often converted into carbon dioxide and water when any food has gone through the digestive system.

I was actually looking for mitochondria vs car battery comparisons when I found this gem. Although the mitochondria are the powerhouses to your cells, they may soon also act as the powercells to your house.

"Living" batteries made out of mitochondria are being researched (the link is actually from 2010 so that's a bit of a stretch), and could very well be our lead into renewable energy. Mitochondria can produce mass amounts of energy and are biodegradable as well. Although complicated, the necessary steps to energy "generation" are near instantaneous (for our intents and purposes) which make these batteries just as efficient as our current AA 1.5 V best friends.

Mitochondria-based batteries may not be suitable comparisons to car batteries but it's reliable mechanisms for energy "production" can certainly compete with current technologies. I think this is pretty promising as a loreescience blog post down the line because although I was not able to find a mitochondria/car battery comparison, a student a few years from now may be able to. :^)

Reply

Emily D

10/14/2017 05:33:43 pm

I hope that blog post I wrote wasn't too long. Short summary:

Mitochondria create quite a lot of energy, and when bundled together, make suitable batteries. The long process is extremely quick which make them efficient for everyday use.

Reply

Jodie A.

10/14/2017 07:48:28 pm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Eo7JtRA7lg

This video summaries the cellular respiration process. It shows the net yield of each step, and shows briefly how dangerous it is to have mitochondria disorder.

Reply

Shahed E.

10/20/2017 06:32:57 pm

This article relates to our discussion on humans surviving at high altitudes.
http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20150428-secrets-of-living-high-in-the-sky
A typical Massey student would most likely struggle trying to climb to an altitude more than 2440 ft.; this would be due to the lack of oxygen as a result of the air becoming too thin. We know oxygen is an important part of cellular respiration. Without Oxygen, the ETC would fail and we would have to rely on anaerobic respiration, which is very inefficient compared to aerobic. However, up to 88% of Tibetans, inhabitants of the area near Mount Everest, have a mutation that allows them to live at high altitudes with low amounts of hemoglobin without suffering from conditions such as hypoxia, hypertension, etc. No other ethnic group has this mutation, which makes this fact really interesting!

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.

Leave a Reply.

Remember:

Include references!

Please remember to follow the outline for blogs on the "Important Information" page.​Posts should be approx. 3-5 sentences long.When commenting post only by your first name & last initial and DO NOT leave your email.

Links entered in the "website" box of the leave a reply section are not visible.